invernovsinversãoConfusable pair

Which to use

“inverno” and “inversão” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#2,275
“inverno” frequency rank
#17,547
“inversão” frequency rank
19822
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature inverno inversão
Definition estação do ano que se segue ao outono e antecede a primavera; a quarta estação no hemisfério norte, iniciando-se em dezembro, no solstício ato ou efeito de inverter

Where the eye mixes inverno and inversão

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. inverno runs 7 letters (VCCVCCV) against inversão's 8 (VCCVCCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
inverno
8 ch
inversão

Why the eye confuses inverno with inversão

A purely visual mix-up. inverno (/ĩ.ˈvɛɾ.nu/) and inversão (/ĩ.vɨɾ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19822, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

inverno is recorded at frequency rank #2,275, classified as anoun, pronounced /ĩ.ˈvɛɾ.nu/. inversão is at rank #17,547, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ĩ.vɨɾ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 19822, this pair ranks #50,819 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of inverno vs inversão

Shared letters: einorv. Private to "inverno": -. Private to "inversão": sã.

"inverno" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV  ·  "inversão" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • inverno ← inevrno · innverno · invenro · invernno · inveron · inverrno · invreno · invverno

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "inverno" for "inversão" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/ĩ.ˈvɛɾ.nu/ versus /ĩ.vɨɾ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "inverno" vs "inversão" - which ranks higher?
"inverno" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,275 in our Portuguese list, against #17,547 for "inversão". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "inverno" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "inversão" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #50,819 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "inverno" and "inversão" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "imersão vs inversão". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #50,819 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list